Preparation
by XxLISSxX
Summary: My take on what might happen in Episode 8. This is the first part in a series. The Resistance and the First Order both take a breath as they prepare for imminent war. Everyone finds themselves training. It is only a matter of time before the hiatus is over and the fighting continues, fiercer than it ever has been before. Rey/Finn Rey/Poe Rated T for potential dark themes later on.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my take on what might go down in episode 8. I am writing this with the assumption that you have already seen the 7th episode. If you have not, then I would recommend you not read this, because there are definitely SPOILERS. I'll try to update as much as I can anyway, but support will certainly keep me going. There will be some Finn/Rey/Poe romance in this, but the Poe/Rey is mainly there to get Finn a little jealous.**

 **I do not own Star Wars in any way.**

Captain Phasma was disgraced. She stood in the vast cathedral-like room of Supreme Leader Snoke, a man she could not see in the dim lighting, though she made out the silhouette of a grand chair in the middle of the room. This room, she noticed, was just like the one on Starkiller Base, but larger. It had the same pillars and pedestal walkway that conjoined with the pedestal circle in the middle of the room. On it was the gigantic throne of Snoke. She had only gotten a glimpse of that smaller room in all its glory before, and had then thought it was magnificent, but this place was different. It was somehow more real, the darkness was almost material. She had never seen a building so large in her life.

She was trembling violently under her armor, an action she was sure Snoke could see. She could feel his gaze pierce through the darkness, even at more than forty meters away.

"Come closer," he whispered, but she heard him clearly. Her shaking legs slowly took her closer to the throne.

"What have you done?" his voice was soft, like he spoke to a disobedient child.

"Supreme Leader, I was taken captive. I had no choice-"

"BE QUIET!"

She wanted to run, but she knew better than to step back.

"Take off that helmet."

She flinched. The helmet was her protection from the staring eyes of humans and beasts alike. Faces showed weakness. Faces could be interpreted, but helmets stood adamant, unreadable and uncertain to staring and perceptive eyes. Like her soldier subordinates, she took it off only after she had locked herself in her room. But most of all right now it was protection from this creature, this being that she was scared of most. She switched off the clasps and pulled off her helmet. Her sweaty, short hair clung to her face. Tear marks streaked her cheeks. She felt naked.

"I question your loyalties, Captain."

"Supreme Leader, I assure you I am most loyal to you. Please let me prove myself." She begged him outright. She had nothing to hide, nothing to hold back. If he did not accept her back, she knew very well what it meant. She would die.

Snoke was silent for a long time. She knew he enjoyed her suffering, her begging, and her dependence on his words. It only fed his glory, and he basked in it a while before continuing.

"I will give you a last chance."

"Thank you, Supreme Leader, you are most gracious-"

"Do not think me forgiving, traitor. I am short on commanders and I need my most experienced leaders at this time. Kylo Ren's training is of utmost importance to me and while I am occupied with him I do not have time to train another captain. Your job is simple: destroy the Resistance. Find out where they are, send a spy into their midst, send search droids, I don't care how, but once you find them use any force necessary to utterly decimate them. Once they are dead we may have peace."

"Yes, Supreme Leader. Thank you, Supreme Leader. I will apply all my efforts to this task."

"You will. If you do not I will kill you myself. Leave me."

Phasma bowed. She would not be made a fool again.

~*.*~

Finn saw Kylo Ren standing erect on snowy ground, lightsaber blazing harshly against the dark backdrop of a sunless planet. Rey lied behind him near the tree she had been thrown against, possibly dead. Tears tampered with his vision; he could only make out segments of the scene before him. He knew he was soon to join Rey in death. He hoped it would be quick.

He lunged at Kylo Ren.

"REY! REY!" Finn woke screaming.

Poe Dameron, who was sitting beside him, leapt to his feet.

"It's alright, Finn! It's alright! She's fine!"

"Where is she? She was hurt!" Poe didn't understand. He didn't hold her lifeless head in his hands; he didn't see her fly forty meters in the air and hit the tree.

"She's fine, Finn. She's with Luke."

That gave Finn pause.

"Luke? Luke Skywalker?"

"Yes!" Poe's eyes lit up. "We've finally found him."

"Where is he?" Finn looked around as if he might be standing in the room. "Rey's with him? Can I see her?"

"Not yet. They're on the other side of the galaxy right now."

"Then let's go. We'll find a ship-"

"No Finn, the Resistance needs us here. Both of us."

"But Rey-"

"Rey is fine. She is being trained by Luke to become a Jedi as we speak. If you went you would only hinder her training. Finn, the Resistance needs you!"

"You don't understand, Poe. I'm not what the Resistance wants, I'm not a great warrior."

"Finn, fighting for the Resistance is fighting for Rey. Only she can bring down Kylo Ren. We have to do all we can to help her. You'll be no help to her anywhere else."

Finn had not thought of that. This is how he could keep Rey safe, by fighting her enemies. He paused for a time, thinking it over.

Poe grinned. "Are you in?"

Finn looked up at Poe. "I'm in."

"Alright!" Poe smiled broadly and smacked Finn on the back. "Let's go see General Leia. She wanted to see you as soon as you woke."

General Organa was at her usual spot in the Resistance Base, the Main Control Room. Resistance fighters scrambled around fulfilling tasks, some punched coordinates and info into computers, others stood around the hologram in the center of the room, forming strategies and planning attacks. It was near the hologram that General Organa stood. She was in deep discussion with the Admiral over matters that Finn guessed were way above his head. Poe didn't seem to think it mattered, because he walked right up to the General. "Guess who finally woke up?" he said, grinning broadly.

Leia looked at Finn and smiled. "Oh good, we can begin immediately. Finn, first off I want to thank you for your part in destroying Starkiller Base. We could not have done it without you. But we obviously still have much to accomplish." She turned to a hologram that showed a star system. All the planets glowed red. "The red planets are all under the control of the First Order. We have a base here on Kath, but we expect the First Order to find us very soon. Our main goal right now is to secure a new base. We have a few potential locations." She pressed a button and a few small planets zoomed into view then spun around and focused to specific locations, which glowed green. "We've sent scouts into these areas and have asked them to begin negotiations with settlements. These planets are aware of the evil of the First Order. We hope some may decide to join our cause. Furthermore, we can hope that once word spreads of our recent victory, people will be emboldened and begin to join. That is where you come in, Finn."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You have been trained from birth how to fight by the First Order itself. That is why you would be the most effective weapon against it. We need you to train our troops and any incoming recruits. Teach them how to fight the Order by countering its own methods. I am appointing you Captain of the Resistance Ground Forces. If we're going to stop the First Order, we need more experienced troops."

"But-"

"No buts, Captain. The Resistance once again relies on you. Poe will take you to your first recruiting station on the planet of Tattooine. Good luck."

Finn thought they were making a huge mistake. "But General, I was just a sani-"

"Please Finn. I need you. Please don't let us down."

"I'll do my best."


	2. Chapter 2

"Poe?"

"Ya Finn?"

"What am I doing? I've never done anything like this before."

They were both sitting in the cockpit of Poe's ship, flying to Tattooine. BB8 beeped happily behind them. Poe pushed buttons while Finn sat in the co-pilot seat pushing buttons Poe told him to.

"You'll be fine. Just teach them what you know. You know how to shoot a blaster, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you already know twice as much as they do. There's got to be some good training techniques you picked up at the First Order. Just mimic some of them. As long as they're not, you know, mean."

"Right. Right! You know what, I can do this. I just tell them what I know. That's not hard. I've been learning drills all my life. How do I get them to listen to me?"

"You're a Stormtrooper turned Resistance fighter. They'll listen to you. Can you hit the hydraulic deconator for me? It's the one with the yellow stripe, far left."

After a few seconds of searching Finn hit the appropriate button.

"Where'd you learn to fly, Poe?"

"My mother taught me when I was about six how to pilot a ship. She would let me sit in the co-pilot seat when she went on her trips. She smuggled goods from the First Order and sold them to Resistance fighters."

"And she brought her kid along?"

Poe laughed. "Not on her big missions. Just the small ones. My dad was a Resistance fighter too. I never saw him. He died when the First Order invaded my home land. Mom had escaped on her ship with me and a few other passengers before the fighting began. She couldn't make it back for another month, and when she did, Dad was nowhere to be found. We think he died in the fires."

"I'm sorry man, that's awful."

"Mom never went back there. She flew all over the galaxy stealing goods from the First Order and distributing them to the Resistance. It became her life. I hoped for years that Dad would come back, that he would find Mom and me and we'd be together again, but I have never heard word of him. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What's your story? Do you remember your parents?"

"No. I don't. Should I?"

"That depends. When did the Order take you?"

"I was still a baby. They take children before they can be influenced by their parents so they can be assured absolute loyalty."

"I guess sometimes it doesn't work." Finn smirked.

"I guess not."

"So your adopted parents were a bunch of First Order lackeys? How depressing."

"Ya, that is depressing."

Finn took the ship out of hyperdrive and started slowing down. A white planet zoomed into focus.

"How's your back?"

Finn grimaced. His injuries had made themselves known soon after his encounter with the former princess. The drugs the droids had given him had worn off, and now he felt a constant nagging and pulling at his spine.

"Still painful."

"There should be a medpac somewhere around here. Take a look in the compartments. The medpac should carry an injection of painkiller serum. It will hold you until we land."

Poe guided his ship down to the sandy planet and landed on a docking station.

"We're here!"

Poe stopped searching for the medpac and glanced out the window.

"What, this one's sandy too? Does the universe want me to die of a heat stroke?"

~*.*~

Looking at her curiously, Luke Skywalker walked forward. Rey's heart was pounding in her throat. It was him. He was definitely not a myth. All of it was true. The Force was true; she'd used it. She realized now that that was what was working through her when she escaped Kylo Ren. And here was the man around whom all the stories circulated. He looked like a sage in his flowing garb and graying beard. He reached forward and grasped the lightsaber, and they held it together for a time, looking into each other's eyes until she let it go. She didn't know what to say. The silence was mystical.

Luke broke his gaze from her and gave attention to his old weapon. He turned it in his hands, examining it for Rey did not know what. She hoped she hadn't scratched it.

He gazed intensely into her eyes, making her slightly uncomfortable.

"Who are you?" he asked with gentle authority.

"I'm Rey." She didn't know if she should extrapolate. When he said nothing, she decided she should.

"I was sent here by the Resistance to find you. Everyone has been looking for you. The Resistance, the First Order-"

"Why were you sent?"

"They were hoping- I was hoping- that you would train me. To be a Jedi, I mean."

"You are too old to be trained."

The words hit Rey hard. She almost lost her composure. She had worked so hard to come here- everyone was expecting her to be trained- and she couldn't because she was too old?

"But I have the Force. I fought Kylo Ren!"

"Kylo Ren?"

Rey berated herself. Bringing up his failure would not convince him to train her. Or maybe it would. Looking at this old man, she became angry.

"Yes. Kylo Ren. Your student. He and his First Order friends are laying waste to the galaxy. He destroyed a whole star system with his weapon, and you, the only Jedi left, are living like a recluse on the fringes of the galaxy, neglecting your own family, running from your own failure!" Rey did not know where this sudden passion was coming from. She thought it was surely over. She would pack up and fly back on the Millenium Falcon, back to the Resistance base, and when they asked her why she was back so soon, she would have to tell them that she lost her temper and Luke refused to teach her because she was too old.

Luke only stared at her. He didn't seem to react to her outburst.

"Control your anger. Anger leads to darkness."

Was that- a lesson?

He looked at her differently now, sizing her up, examining her.

"I can feel the force within you, Rey. It is strong. You say you defeated Kylo Ren?"

"I drove him to the ground. He was badly wounded. But I think he may still be alive."

"Yes, he is. I see him often in visions."

"Is that what you do here? Meditate?"

"Lately I have been doing a lot of meditation. I searched for the Jedi temple for a time, and then I waited."

"What were you waiting for?"

"For you."

Rey wrinkled her brow in confusion. "You- you knew I was coming?"

"In a way, yes."

She didn't ask him what he meant by that.

"I thought I was too old to train."

"You are. But so was I, as was my father before me. You are too strong in the force to be left unbridled. You must be trained, and soon."

"So you _will_ train me?"

"I see I must. Your emotions control you too much. I advise you to learn all the facts before making accusations, especially towards your Master."

Rey felt uncomfortable. She had only been told off by the ones over her in Jakku. She had always obeyed them grudgingly, knowing that if she didn't she would be unable to feed herself. She had just escaped that, but now was under it again. But something was different about this. The one over her now was not some mean brute, he was Luke Skywalker, and she wasn't subordinating herself for food. He was teaching her to be a Jedi. The idea thrilled her, and now even calling him master filled her with excitement. This was what the Jedi called their leaders. It meant she was one of them.

Rey smiled. "Yes, Master."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Follow me."

He led her even higher up the island. Rey was unused to the cold air that blew so strong there. She became tired as they climbed on, up more and more steps, and soon she was uncomfortably sweaty as well as cold. Breathing deeply was a challenge when the air was cool; it felt like chilly knives scraped up and down her throat with every breath.

When she thought she would last no longer with her running nose and stiff hands and pained breaths, Luke stopped. She was looking down; she almost ran into his back. "We are here," he said. She looked around.

"I don't see anything." There were nothing but rocks jutting out of grass so far as Rey could see. She admired the grass, wishing she could lie down and roll in it. She found herself admiring anything green or blue now.

Luke closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Use the Force. Let it guide you."

Rey mimicked her teacher, closing her eyes and focusing on the power of the Force. Suddenly, she knew what was ahead of her. She wondered how she could have missed it.

Ahead of her was something ancient, something radiating sobriety, filled with the Force and filling all around it. Now that she thought about it, she had known its presence since her arrival.

Ahead of her were the remains of a Jedi temple.


End file.
